


Nothing To Fight About

by terreocti



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29330253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terreocti/pseuds/terreocti
Summary: Greg needs advice, and Pearl knows Rose better than anyone.
Relationships: Rose Quartz/Greg Universe
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Nothing To Fight About

Rose and Greg didn't fight. And it was not because the last time things got heated she accidently used her powers to fling him ten feet away into a tree and he broke his arm. That wasn't her fault. She didn't do it on purpose and she healed it right away, so he couldn't get hung up on that one little incident. They didn't fight because they were a great couple who solved their disputes through other means. Means that didn't cause bone fractures. Greg knew that these other means largely involved him giving in entirely and letting Rose do what she wanted, but this time he was determined to stick to his guns and get her to hear him out. But they didn't fight, and he had yet to get the conversation more than a few sentences in without a fight beginning to loom and scaring him off continuing. 

He just wanted to figure out what their relationship really meant to her, get some form of commitment, but she never wanted to talk about it. He knew she was thousands of years old and basically immortal, so he understood that commitment wouldn't look the same to her, especially with a human, but he wanted something. He didn't want to be a fad, a silly fling to entertain her for a while. That was what Pearl said he was, but he could feel that there was something more. He really wanted to be something more.

Talking to Pearl about it was probably the last thing he should do, but he really couldn't stand to fight with Rose, and if anyone would be able to give him some straight answers about Rose's real motivations, it would be Pearl. She always acted like she knew Rose better than anyone, and while he didn't like the certainty she had about the temporary nature of his relationship, he suspected she had reasons for it, and he wanted to know them. He was out of options, and if it came to it, he'd rather fight Pearl anyway. If she killed him, it would be on purpose.

"Hey, Pearl, what's up?" He opened cheerfully, aiming for casual as he strolled toward the warp pad she'd just appeared on.

"Rose isn't here," Pearl told him immediately, already turning away.

"I know! Actually," he told her quickly. "Rose mentioned she wouldn't be around today. I wanted to talk to you, if you're not too busy." He hoped his smile didn't look as strained as it felt.

Pearl stopped. "Me? About what?" she asked warily.

Greg hesitated, struggling to think of the best way to phrase his question. Finally he burst out, "You seem really sure Rose isn't going to stay with me and I can't get her to talk about commitment and I want to know why." He cringed slightly, waiting for a sharp retort, or for her to get back on the warp pad and just leave, but instead she stood still, watching him.

"You really love her, don't you?" Pearl said quietly, staring at him with her usual look, like she couldn't quite figure him out.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground instead of at her. "Yeah," he said flatly. "I really love her. Does she love me?"

"I don't know," Pearl flushed and looked away from him. "I can't tell you anything for sure, you should really just talk to Rose about this."

"I tried!" he exclaimed. "Like five times, I tried, but she won't talk about it and I can't- I can't fight with her." He realized he was unconsciously rubbing his formerly broken arm, and forced himself to stop. That wasn't what this was about, and it wasn't her fault anyway.

Pearl was looking at his arm. "Yes, she's terribly difficult to argue with," she agreed, looking at him like she might actually understand him for once. 

"I don't know if she loves you, though," she told him again firmly. "Rose doesn't tell me everything, or anything lately," she added bitterly, "But she wants you, for now, I suppose. Isn't that good enough?"

"No!" he burst out furiously. "It isn't enough, I don't want to just be some toy she bats around and throws away! I love her, I stayed here for her, I want to matter to her!"

"Rose likes to play with humans," Pearl returned coldly. "I told you that from the beginning. You aren't the first, and you won't be the last. You're just another human man, and she'll get bored with you like all the others. I told you. Now you want to listen? Because you're scared of her now?"

"I'm not scared of her! Things are fine between us, I'm just thinking about the future!" he snapped. "You're so sure she's just gonna keep going back to you? Why, just because you're immortal too? Maybe I won't live forever, but humans live a while! Why shouldn't she stay with me?"

Pearl looked silently at him. "I think she'll keep coming back to me because I'm the only one left," she said softly. "Even if she stayed with you all your life, it's only what? A century? A century is nothing. She needs someone to worship her, and no matter how many humans she finds to do it, all of you will die, and I'll. Still. Be. Here."

"Why?" Greg asked. It was all he could say. "Why do you even want to spend all your eternity waiting for her, if that's what she's really like?" He felt cold, and tired, and very afraid that Pearl was right. Rose needed worshippers, not lovers. She was a goddess. How could he have thought for a moment that he could convince her he mattered?

"It's-" Pearl hesitated. "It's all I am," she managed. "It's what- it's what I'm here for. All I want is to make her happy. I don't care how many-" she paused again. "How many distractions I have to watch her go through. I never… won't be here."

She looked sad, in a distant sort of way, like she wasn't quite sure why. "I- get that," Greg said softly. "I just. She's so much. So amazing. I don't want her to leave me."

"Than keep giving her what she wants," Pearl said flatly. "You're doing fine. You have her attention. Stop asking for more, stop antagonizing her. You don't fight with her because you don't want her to hurt you, or leave you. You're right. If you don't want her to hurt you or leave you don't fight with her. It's simple. Don't ask me whether she loves you, don't ask her. Be happy with what you have. For as long as you have it. There's nothing else I can tell you," 

She marched briskly back to the warp pad and vanished into the beam of light. Greg stared blankly after her. Of course that was her advice. What else did he expect? The worst part, he reflected, was that she was absolutely right, and it was as obvious as she'd made it sound. He already knew that, didn't he? How to make Rose happy? He wasn't getting a better answer. There really wasn't a better way. 

Silently, he sank to the ground, facing the warp pad. He'd be there whenever Rose got back. He could wait. He could be whatever she wanted, because that was what he wanted too. And they wouldn't fight, because there was nothing to fight about.


End file.
